Flower-Themed Baking: Bringing the Outdoors Indoors

Isn't it magical when perennial flowers grow back each spring? I'm amazed when green leaves sprout from the brown remnants of last year's stems.

My itty bitty gardener, Audrey.

When my family and I add to our flower beds each year, sprinkling in some colorful annuals alongside our perennial favorites, my kiddos become quite the helpers. I love seeing their excitement and pride as they work hard to make everything beautiful.

Celebrating spring and enjoying all the wonderful flowers in bloom doesn't have to be limited to the garden.

At Itty Bitty Bakers, we love bringing the outdoors indoors with flower-themed baking!

Our collection of flower-themed bakes.

In past years, we've made the following flower-themed recipes with kids in our classes and camps:

• Mini Hummingbird Bundt Cakes

• Flower Bouquet Cupcakes

• Flower Pot Dirt Cakes

• Daisy Flower Brownies

• Flower Macarons

• Marshmallow Flower Cupcakes

• Disney's Enchanted Rose Cupcakes

• Disney's Tangled Cupcakes

Students with Daisy Flower Brownies at Flower Power Baking Camp

Can you guess the recipe above that's been repeated the most over the years?

The set-up for Marshmallow Flower Cupcakes Class in 2019.

Our favorite Itty Bitty Bakers flower-themed recipe to make with kids is definitely....drumroll.... Marshmallow Flower Cupcakes.

Teachers Melissa Carden and Jessica Hamby taught Marshmallow Flower Cupcakes at Itty Bitty Bakers classes back in 2019. Then I taught them at my house in 2022 during Garden Party Baking Camp. Pell City teacher Stephanie Rothoff taught them for her first kids baking class in 2023. Most recently, Jeni Warram taught them at Flower Power Baking Camp in 2025.

Talk about a favorite! This recipe is a favorite because it works for all ages we teach, from ages 3-14.

For younger kids, using kid-safe scissors to cut the marshmallows in half gives them a great fine motor skill challenge. They also love dipping the cut marshmallows in the sprinkles.

For older kids, arranging the cut marshmallows to look like specific flowers is a fun challenge. It's always been a great opportunity for the big kids to exercise their creativity skills and they've loved showing off their final products.

Try them with your kids!

Here are the steps:

1. Bake vanilla cupcakes.

2. Add frosting on top.

3. Cut up marshmallows, either small or large, and place them in a bowl.

4. Study some flower examples either from fresh flowers in your home, or outside in your garden.

5. Have the kids dip the cut sides in sugar sprinkles and then place them onto the frosting, arranging as flower petals.

6. You make one too and then ask them, "Does it look like a dahlia, a daisy, a geranium?" This is a great way to learn flower names and admire their intricate, beautiful designs.

Students at Garden Party Baking Camp

Take a look at the beautiful designs some of my students made at Garden Party Baking Camp. What flowers do you see?

Flower-themed baking during Spring, or anytime of the year, is a great way to bring the outdoors indoors and make something beautiful to enjoy.

What flower-themed recipes should we make next? Let us know in the comments.